Ways to combat stress effects?

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I've found that lack of sleep and stress directly contribute to me looking pretty gross. This summer I was almost completely clear and now at the end of first semester I'm not looking so hot. Four exams last week have left me with huge cysts. . . not fun.

I'm about to crawl into a mask like this guy -->

What do you guys do to combat the effects of stress/no sleep on your skin? Any good ideas or things I could try?

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I've found that lack of sleep and stress directly contribute to me looking pretty gross. This summer I was almost completely clear and now at the end of first semester I'm not looking so hot. Four exams last week have left me with huge cysts. . . not fun.

I'm about to crawl into a mask like this guy -->

What do you guys do to combat the effects of stress/no sleep on your skin? Any good ideas or things I could try?

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Exercising helps relieve stress alot. I've just recently started running and i've found that its helped relieve alot of stress... Also, i know its hard to believe, but i've tried a few hypnosis tapes at night that really seem to relax me ...

Hopefully thats some help..

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I have had the same experience! this past summer I was lookin pretty good...then school started again! My acne is back to what it was b4 summer and it's awful! Just like ken4, I run and exercise and it helps (just be sure to shower afterward...acne LOVES sweat)!! another problem of mine is the sleep...definitely dont get enough of it!

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Sorry to revive an old thread, but I thought it'd be more considerate than starting one of my own.

As I'm sure many of you know, exam season for us college kids is probably the most stressful time of year, both psychologically and physiologically. The stress manifests itself in our hormone production (cortisol and adrenaline, anyone?), our diet (who has time to cook when there's desperate studying to do?), sleep deprivation, and so on. All of this, of course, impacts upon acne in some way, and I definitely find that when I'm studying or working too hard, my skin pays the price, even if I'm doing all the same things I was before.

I was wondering, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother, if anyone knows of any (convenient to prepare) foods that help with stress levels and provide energy that is metabolized slowly enough to get through long exam-filled days, and won't cause break-outs. Are there any particular nutrients/vitamins that help with stress, or help regulate hormone levels during times of stress?

Thanks in advance.

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Try 20 minutes of meditation a day with the relaxation response. Foods won't cause breakouts though cortisol can -- try something high in protein and low in carbs as protein creates neurotransmitters which help you feel good.

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Some mediatation with binaural beats and innertalk's free stress Mp3 and you'll be so relaxed that you'll pee yourself. Seriously though, any one of these three will relax the hell out of you and if you want instant relaxation try the binaural beats as they automatically switch your brainwaves to beta mode and lower. If you want to take the time though, meditation is the best thing you can do for yourself mentally and physically. If you can combine that with free flowing visualizations you have the Einstienian method and your creativity will rise exponentially and your IQ will rise up to 25% or above(Diminishing returns makes it usually less). This is how 90% of all innovations in history was thought up.

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Basically, yeh, stress has two main factors. Stress affects the body (obviously), ad secondly it affects the brain. Most things like exercising, bathing relives the physical symptoms of stress, but the real cause of stress is in the mind.

The real way of combating stress is changing your mind. SO yeh, meditation, things to make your mind become more relaxed and percieve things differently helps.

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SBaGen program. There is an extremely versitile and good program available however it does cost 50.00 and requires knowledge of binaural beats(There is a guide but it's a lot of science) and you need to be computer savvy as it's built like a recording program for studios(You can burn the beats into the backgrounds of CD's such as the subliminal ones to enhance the effectiveness by opening up the brain more suggestions).

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That's actually not true, polka. A prolonged physical exercise regimen will create additional stress blocking neurotransmitters in the body that are released in the blood even when stress does not occur. It's pretty cool.

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That won't work for a traumatic event though. If your mind is full of chronic stress(Like those whose self-esteem is nothing and thinks that everyone they meet will hate them because of their acne) exercise will only go so far.

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Not always true, actually. It can have pretty far reaching effects with the body-- its own stress-stopper production goes up during exercise to relax the muscles a little and, after a while, this continues even during down time.

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That won't work for a traumatic event though. If your mind is full of chronic stress(Like those whose self-esteem is nothing and thinks that everyone they meet will hate them because of their acne) exercise will only go so far.

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Apologies everyone for taking so long to reply. I actually don't have internet access right now due to an unfortunate technological incident. (I'm writing this at the library.)

And yes, I've found that when I'm actually disciplined enough to keep up with a quasi-daily exercise regimen, stress just slides off of me, even if I don't manage to work out every day. Besides the physiological and chemical reasons, it also helps take your mind off the everyday dreck of life, and there's nothing like the feeling of stepping out of the shower with sore muscles.

Thanks everyone for your prompt and helpful responses. Exams are over for now, and thus so is the main source of my stress. I will be sure to look into your suggestions for future use, however.

Solidarity.

- Artemis

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Cat naps help me a lot.When I was in school I took short breaks every 60-90 minutes for 5 minutes to refocus.And, I used a typist, so I could not procrastinate on my papers.She had to have them a week before they were due.No burning the midnight oil on papers at least. My stress was greatly reduced and my GPA stayed up too. Good luck next term.